Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection is made up of letters that Eunice Landers sent to Helen and Charles Boswell of Union County, Oregon, while living in Frankfurt, Germany, in the early 1960s. She wrote about her travels in Germany and other European countries, the United States military, and family news.

This collection is made up of 5 letters that Eunice Landers sent to her acquaintances Helen and Charles Boswell of Union County, Oregon, while living in Frankfurt, Germany, in the early 1960s. Landers described aspects of her life in Frankfurt and her travels around Germany and to countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. She often provided news of David G. Andrews, a United States serviceman, and of "Ginny" and Mary, possibly her daughters. Though primarily personal in nature, her letters contain references to the Soviet Union (August 18, 1961), the Berlin Wall, and John F. Kennedy. She also wrote about military subjects such as promotions and an officer's farewell party.

This journal recounts the author's travels in Europe between December 1863 and September 1865. He visited England, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany, though he spent most of his time in Paris, France; Rome and Elba, Italy; and Heidelberg, Germany. The journal records the author's impressions of local people and customs, his efforts to learn various European languages, and the friends he met while abroad.

This journal recounts the author's travels in Europe between December 1863 and September 1865. His first entry, in December 1863, documents his recent transatlantic voyage from New York to Liverpool, including rough weather while on the Atlantic Ocean. He composed entries sporadically through September 1865, recording his impressions of cities and people he encountered while traveling. After spending a few days sightseeing in London, he left for Paris, where he remained until March 1864. While in Paris, he attempted to learn French, saw numerous famous buildings and other sights, attended balls, and befriended local students.

He stayed in Italy from March to April, during which time he climbed Mount Vesuvius, visited Pompeii, and became acquainted with a pastor, with whom he traveled to Elba for a visit of about a month. He remained in the country after leaving Elba and provided descriptions of prominent Italian cities he encountered on his way to Geneva, Switzerland, such as Leghorn and Florence. After his stay in Geneva, he left his journal and most of his possessions behind as he traveled throughout Switzerland and northern Italy with only a knapsack, an experience he wrote about after his arrival in Heidelberg, Germany, which he reached before August 14. Once in Heidelberg, he recorded his thoughts about the local culture, the influence of university students, and visits to a local castle. Though his entries became more sporadic after August 1864, the journal reflects his subsequent travels to Bavaria and throughout Germany, northern Italy, and Austria, with detailed descriptions of scenery and of his experiences. While in Germany, he occasionally commented on Gothic architecture, and one late entry relates his experiences on a recent deer hunting trip. The final entry was composed around mid-September 1865.

The Irl Potter Haynes correspondence is made up of over 100 typewritten letters from Irl Haynes to his wife Josephine Haynes while serving in the YMCA as part of the American Expeditionary Forces in the United States and France during and after World War I. Haynes received transportation training in the summer and fall of 1918 at "College Camp", Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; New York City; and Hoboken, New Jersey. He worked for the YMCA as a cashier/financial manager at the Hotel Pavillon in Paris from November or December 1918 to June 1919, and at the "Garden" soda fountain from June to at least December 1919.

In June 1918, Haynes underwent training at the Lake Geneva Encampment of The Young Men's Christian Association College at "College Camp", Wisconsin, serving in both secretarial and physical capacities. He arrived in Washington, D.C., in July 1918 and by October, he had settled into a training regimen and as a physical director in New York City. During his time in New York, he received mail and regularly visited the International and War Work Council Headquarters at 347 Madison Avenue. In the city, he wrote letters about crowds and sightseeing in New York, working on learning to drive different trucks, and volunteering at the transport school at Hoboken, New Jersey. He also described armistice celebrations in New York City.

Around November 18, 1918, Haynes shipped out on board the Lamport & Holt Line, S.S. Vauban, arriving in Paris in early December. He started working in a garage after his arrival and shortly thereafter, as cashier at the Hotel Pavillon. In regular letters, he shared with his wife observations on different areas of the city; attendance at prizefights, shows, and other entertainment; discussions of French women, a Belgian nurse, and other women; and updates on mutual friend Catherine Stinson and Irl's friends Jo Barnard and "Hayden". He wrote about everyday life, including information on acquiring and washing clothing, costs of living, the weather, food, the home he stayed in, aspects of his work, reading and writing, health and medical treatment (requesting at times for his wife to send him particular medicines), visits to the Red Cross, typewriters, securing souvenirs, and interacting with other Americans in Paris. Early after his arrival in France, he talked of censorship and the censors mutilated at least two of his letters (December 12 and 20, 1918). In one instance, he mentioned that the hotel would be temporarily restricted because of the flu (February 26, [1919]). The subjects of Irl's letters changed little after taking on new employment at the "Garden" soda fountain in June 1919, though he included details about his new responsibilities.

Irl Haynes clearly felt the distance from his family and the correspondence with his wife regularly included requests for information about their children, discussions about the children's education, thoughts on a newly purchased piano and on whether or not the family would buy a dog, queries about health, and talk of financial matters. He emphasized the importance of reading to the children, particularly Bible stories.

Irl Haynes wrote a few of his letters on the reverse side of a typed 1-page daily serial titled "THE KIT BAG : Trials and Smiles Concerning the Overseas Conferences of the YMCA" ed. Ira C. Young and Robert Good out of the Bristol Hotel, New York City, November 2, 1918-November 12, 1918. The serial is illustrated with a suitcase marked "O.K. BRISTOL Y.M.C.A. A.E.F."

The collection includes a 1-page illustrated printed flier titled "'On to Victory' From painting by Edgard Léon. Copyright 1917" with the text of "A MESSAGE TO HEROIC FRANCE", also by Edgard Léon (Polytechnic Institute, Kansas City, Mo.).

Irl Haynes copied two poems into his letters, which were written or partially written by his friend and colleague "Hayden":

• "The Flag" by "Hayden" (January 10-14, [1919])
• "Mrs. Malone and the Censor" by unidentified and "Hayden" (February 23, [1919])

This collection is made up of materials related to James M. Curtin, including his brother Will's letters about his travels in France in the spring of 1919, photographs taken in France in 1919, a narrative of the Curtin siblings' visit to Europe in 1961, and drafts of a short story.

This collection is made up of 7 items related to James M. Curtin of Marcellus, New York, and his siblings. His brother Will wrote letters to his mother and siblings from Paris, France, on March 13 and May 18, 1919; one is written on stationery of the American Commission to Negotiate Peace. Will Curtin described life and leisure activities in Paris, and recounted his travels around France, including a trip to Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Two photographs taken on May 11, 1919, show "Mr. Curtin" and three women posing with soldiers near Reims Cathedral. The collection contains 2 undated drafts of a short story by James M. Curtin, entitled "A Misadventure on a Spring Holiday" (27 pages and 32 pages, respectively).

The final item is an unsigned manuscript (96 pages) regarding a "European Trip Taken in 1961 by Genevieve, Mary and James Curtin" (August 7, 1961-October 5, 1961). The narrative consists of daily entries about the family's travels in Ireland, France, and Italy, including extensive travel within the Republic of Ireland and visits to Lourdes, Nice, Rome, and Paris. The author recorded many details about the family's Irish ancestors, particularly those who settled in New York and Iowa, and discussed their sightseeing activities in Cork, Galway, the Aran Islands, Connemara, Dublin, and other locations. While in southern France and Rome, the family visited several churches; on one occasion, they witnessed a private speech by the Pope. The Curtins saw many ancient landmarks while in Rome and then flew over the Alps to Paris. While there, they took a trip to the Palace of Versailles. The account ends mid-sentence with the family's return to New York after a transatlantic journey on a Holland-American Line steamer.

This diary recounts the World War I experiences of Joseph Eve, who served in Battery F of the 101st Field Artillery Regiment during the final months of the war. Eve described his experiences at training sites in the United States, as well as while traveling through France during the months immediately following the war.

This 34-page diary, titled "My Diary while in the Army," recounts Joseph Eve's experiences with Battery F of the Battery F of the 101st Field Artillery Regiment during the final months of World War I. The volume, a running narrative, covers the entirety of Eve's military experiences, beginning with his departure from Salt Lake City on September 2, 1918, and concluding with his return on April 25, 1919. Eve first traveled to Camp Lewis, Washington, where he was formally inducted into the Army, and transferred to Fort Stevens, Oregon, on September 26. While in training, he reported frequent drilling, discussed some of his equipment, and reflected on his cross-country travels. He kept a list of major cities he traveled through both on his way to Oregon and between Oregon and Camp Merritt, New Jersey, where he embarked for Europe on the President Grant around October 28. After writing about the trip, during which a torpedo hit the President Grant's sister ship, the President Lincoln, Eve described the celebrations in France on Armistice Day, when he first arrived in the country.

The remainder of the diary concerns his movements throughout France in the following months. Eve often expressed his displeasure with the accommodations at French camps, and occasionally mentioned performing training exercises with trench mortars. At one camp, he saw a group of German prisoners of war; at another, he encountered veterans who laughed at his unit's prospects of becoming an occupation force. He also visited Paris and described the soldiers and ordnance around Metz, France, before returning to the United States onboard the Mongolia in April 1919. Eve's diary ends with his arrival in Salt Lake City on April 25, one day after his discharge from the Army at Fort Russell, Wyoming.

The final pages of the volume contain additional material, including 2 pages of financial accounts, a list of food items, and a 4-page list of cities Eve traveled through on his way from Shirley, Massachusetts, to Granger, Wyoming. Two pages contain rough sketches of the insignia of 42 infantry divisions of the United States Army, arranged in a grid according to divisional numbers. A ticket for the Paris Métropolitain and a contract between Joseph Bannister and Joseph Eve, granting Eve a lease on Bannister's farm in Grace, Idaho (October 1, 1916), are laid into the volume between the front cover and first page.

The Journal of Our Trip Through Europe chronicles the European travels of Americans "Billie" and "Blanche" in the summer and fall of 1891.

The "Journal of our trip through Europe" (147 pages) chronicles the European travels of Americans "Billie" and "Blanche" from July 22, 1891-October 7, 1891.

The diary concerns the travelers' transatlantic voyages on the City of Paris (July 1891) and Friesland (October 1891) and their experiences in London, Paris, Rome, other Italian cities, several German cities, and Brussels. They spent most of their time enthusiastically sightseeing, but were frustrated in Italy when attacked by pickpockets (September 6, 1891). In Paris, they visited the catacombs and witnessed a suicide at the Eiffel Tower (August 24, 1891). The diary records visits to art museums throughout Europe, such as the Louvre and the Vatican Museums, and notes the travelers' impressions of architecture and public sculptures.

The Louis G. Monté collection is made up of 2 diaries about Americans traveling in Europe in the summer of 1899. Monté and another traveler wrote entries about sightseeing in England, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Both journals have pencil drawings of people encountered and each doubles as a scrapbook with photographs, tickets, programs, and other ephemera.

The Louis G. Monté collection is made up of 2 diaries about Americans traveling in Europe in the summer of 1899. Monté and another traveler wrote entries about sightseeing in several European countries, and both used their journals as scrapbooks.

Louis G. Monté wrote daily diary entries between July 5, 1899, and August 26, 1899 (Volume 1, pages 5-73). He described his journey from Charlestown, Massachusetts, to England on the steamer New England and arrived on July 14. He saw the sights in London, England; Paris, France; Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen), Cologne (Köln) and Düsseldorf, Germany; and Amsterdam and Haarlem, Netherlands. He often visited museums and commented on local architecture and customs. Monté's brief final entries pertain to his return journey from Antwerp, Belgium, to New York on the steamer Southwark. Monté also used his book as a scrapbook for photographs and ephemera (pages 1-4 and 1a-36a; not all pages are used), and he wrote notes about French, English, and German currency on pages 2-4. The book's endpapers and cover also have items pasted in, such as tickets, programs, advertisements, and other ephemera. Photographs primarily depict scenes and people in the Netherlands, and numerous drawings illustrate people he encountered during his European travels. Pages 21a-22a (Volume 1) contain an essay on English architecture.

The second diary (unattributed) covers the author's travels from August 3, 1899-August 16, 1899 (pages 1-33), with photographs, stamps, tickets, train schedules, and other ephemera interleaved with the journal entries (pages 34-55 and 1a-55a; not all pages are used). The author drew pictures of people and wrote notes. He visited the same locations as Monté and sketched a nearly identical image of a woman in Aix-La-Chappelle, Germany (Vol. 1, p. 19a; Vol. 2, p. 2). Most of the pasted-in ephemera items pertain to travels in the Netherlands.

This collection consists primarily of letters that Lieutenant Colonel Melvin Brown wrote to his wife Louise while serving at the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces during World War II. The letters, which most frequently discuss the couple's two sons and Brown's desire to return home, also offer insight into his views on the role of the United States military following the war.

This collection consists primarily of 17 letters that Lieutenant Colonel Melvin Brown wrote to his wife Louise while serving at the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces during World War II. The letters, which most frequently discuss the couple's two sons and Brown's desire to return home, also offer insight into his views on the role of the United States military following the war. The collection also has a letter to Melvin Brown from the Prudential Insurance Company.

Melvin Brown wrote 17 letters to his wife in September 1944 and between April and September 1945. He addressed his letters to "Louise and Sonnies" and signed himself "Daddy B." In his letters, Brown expressed his affection for his family, shared his amusement after hearing stories of the boys' games, and discussed his regret at being absent for his sons' early years. He also commented on finances and the possibility of purchasing an insurance policy to fund his sons' education.

Brown was stationed in Paris after the conclusion of hostilities in Europe and often visited the nearby countryside, where he saw the effects of the war (April 17, 1945). His letter of August 6, 1945, encloses 5 photographs of a picnic held at a château. Occasionally, Brown mentioned his political opinions and his thoughts about the end of the war and the "strange peace proceedings in the Pacific" (August 19, 1945). On August 26, 1945, he wrote about the atomic bomb, suggesting that it might fulfill the apocalyptic stories of H. G. Wells, and expressed his hope that the United States would not return to isolationist politics after the war. One printed letter, addressed to Melvin C. Brown by the Prudential Insurance Company, relates to an insurance check sent directly to Louise Brown (April 3, 1945).

This collection is made up of 4 essays that Michael B. Kenny wrote about his travels in France between December 1918 and February 1919. Kenny, an overseas secretary for the Knights of Columbus based in Paris, France, described Paris landmarks and visits to Angers, Château-Thierry, and Reims. He often wrote about the effects of the war on the locations he visited.

This collection is made up of 4 essays (6 total pages) that Michael B. Kenny wrote about his travels in France between December 1918 and February 1919. Kenny, an overseas secretary for the Knights of Columbus based in Paris, France, described Paris landmarks and visits to Angers, Château-Thierry, and Reims. During his time in Angers, France, in December 1918, he and his companions attended mass, helped officiate a series of boxing matches between American soldiers, and distributed sweets and other goods to hospitalized soldiers. Kenny noted his admiration for Red Cross nurses and also described the town's castle. In early January 1919, Kenny went to Château-Thierry, where he reflected on the United States Army's role in the eponymous battle that had taken place around six months prior to his visit. He celebrated the accomplishments of the 69th New York National Guard (later the 165th United States Infantry Regiment), an Irish regiment, and visited a military cemetery. At the time of his visit, previous inhabitants had slowly begun to return to the town.

Kenny's third essay concerns his trip to Reims, France, in late January 1919. While traveling to Reims by railroad, he viewed the extensive damage to the countryside, including shell holes big enough to form residential cellars. He saw little evidence of current human or animal presence, though he could usually locate each ruined settlement's Catholic church, which often formed the center of a cluster of homes. His description of Reims focuses on the city's near-complete destruction and abandonment, with empty shells lining the streets and obscuring the sidewalks. He noticed an unexploded shell that remained within a damaged cathedral. Kenny walked to a section of intact German trenches. The final essay includes descriptions of several Paris landmarks, including the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Consolation, Arc de Triomphe, Trocadéro, Eiffel Tower, and Les Invalides.

This collection contains correspondence and other materials related to the family of Samuel Prioleau Ravenel and his wife, Margaretta Fleming Parker Ravenel. Many of the letters concern life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Charleston, South Carolina, before, during, and after the Civil War (particularly during Reconstruction). Other items pertain to family news, European travel, and other subjects.

This collection is made up of correspondence, photographs, and other materials related to the family of Samuel Prioleau Ravenel and his wife Margaretta Fleming Parker Ravenel. Many of the letters concern life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Charleston, South Carolina, before, during, and after the Civil War.

The Correspondence series (215 items) comprises the bulk of the collection. Many of the earliest items are incoming personal letters to Clarissa Walton and Thomas Fleming from friends, their son. These and other early items largely pertain to everyday life and social activities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Charleston, South Carolina. The series includes a group of letters that Thomas and Margaretta Fleming Parker wrote to the Flemings, his in-laws and her parents, about life in Charleston in 1861; Margaretta occasionally referred to the war. James McCarter wrote two letters from Charleston in June 1862 about the flight of civilians from the city and other effects of the war.

Ravenel family correspondence begins in the late 1850s with letters that Samuel Prioleau Ravenel received from a correspondent in Philadelphia; at the time, he lived in Pendleton, South Carolina. Ravenel began to correspond with Margaretta Parker in 1862, and they discussed their courtship, plans to marry, and daily lives until 1865. In letters to Margaretta and, in the late 1860s, to his father, Daniel, Samuel Prioleau Ravenel often wrote about Reconstruction policies, freedmen, and other political topics. Daniel Ravenel wrote to his son and his daughter-in-law about life in Charleston.

Samuel Prioleau and Margaretta Ravenel spent much of the late 1860s in Switzerland and in Paris, France, which Margaretta described in letters to her mother Clarissa Walton Fleming. Fleming responded with news from home, including comments about the 1868 presidential election and her life in Philadelphia. Throughout the 1870s, Samuel and Margaretta corresponded with their families about Charleston socialites and family news from South Carolina and their home in Highlands, North Carolina. They often discussed the births and growth of their children. A group of letters written in 1902 concerns the death of Samuel Prioleau Ravenel. Additional items from the early 20th century concern the Ravenel family's interest in a sugar mill and other topics.

The Photographs series (5 items) contains carte-de-visite portraits of S. Prioleau Ravenel in a military overcoat (1 item), Arthur Parker (1 item), and a woman, tentatively identified as Margaretta Ravenel or "Annie" (2 items), as well as a cabinet card photograph of three men around a table, taken in Mexico.

The Printed Items series (7 items) includes copies of a Supplement to Charleston Mercury (November 30, 1867), the Charleston Daily Courier-Extra (December 3, 1867), and The Charleston Mercury (May 2, 1868). Also included are a page from The Tri-Weekly Courier (December 9, 1867), a playbill for a production of Ten Nights in a Barroom at the Wardman Park theatre (April 23, 1929), a newspaper clipping containing a copy of "Mother Shipton's Prophecy" (undated), a calling card for "Miss Loat" of Balham Hill (undated); and a single book: Mason Smith Family Letters, 1860-1868, edited by Daniel E. Huger Smith, Alice R. Huger Smith, and Arney R. Childs (Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1950).